Long-life pavement system

ABSTRACT

A pavement system may be characterized by different combinations of distributor plates with or without longitudinal and/or cross stiffener frameworks, with all their elements designed in reinforced concrete to meet the requirements of structural capacity derived from its function of transferring vehicular or static loads to the foundation soil.

SUMMARY

[0001] A pavement system may be characterized by different combinations of distributor plates with or without longitudinal and/or cross stiffener frameworks, with all their elements designed in reinforced concrete to meet the requirements of structural capacity derived from its function of transferring vehicular or static loads to the foundation soil.

[0002] The pavement system may include a reinforced concrete diaphragm that may or may not include stiffening elements, either engaged or overhanging from its faces, placed over natural terrain or over layers of non-native materials without separation joints and the usual spacing intervals.

[0003] The pavement system may not require granular bases and sub-bases as support material. The pavement system may also not require the expansion joints, contraction joints or structural joints presently used. Instead, the system may be characterized as monolithic over considerable lengths of some hundreds of meters.

[0004] The pavement system may include elements of reinforced concrete in directions parallel and perpendicular or diagonal to the axis of the structure, located level with, above or under the traffic surface.

[0005] The pavement system may be made up of poured concrete diaphragm structures, solid or relieved, reinforced with steel rods arranged in longitudinal, cross or diagonal directions with respect to the axis of the structure.

[0006] The pavement system may take advantage of the structural integration of functional and esthetic elements of roads, such as curbs, ditches, berms ditches, canals and spillways into roads.

[0007] It is understood that other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein it is shown and described various embodiments of the invention by way of illustration. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various other respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Aspects of the present invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0009]FIG. 1 includes a top and cross-sectional views of an embodiment of a pavement system;

[0010]FIG. 2 includes top view and cross-sectional views of an alternative embodiment of a pavement system;

[0011]FIG. 3 includes top view and cross-sectional views of another alternative embodiment of a pavement system;

[0012]FIG. 4 includes a top view and cross-sectional views of yet another alternative embodiment of a pavement system;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0014]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of yet a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0015]FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a pavement system;

[0016]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a pavement system;

[0017]FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0018]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of yet a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0019]FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a pavement system;

[0020]FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a pavement system;

[0021]FIG. 13 includes top and cross-sectional views of a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0022]FIG. 14 includes top and cross-sectional views of yet a further embodiment of a pavement system;

[0023]FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a pavement system; and

[0024]FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of a pavement system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. Each embodiment described in this disclosure is provided merely as an example or illustration of the present invention, and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present invention. Acronyms and other descriptive terminology may be used merely for convenience and clarity and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0026] A system of pavement for the transfer of vehicular and static loads by means of different combinations of distributor plates 1 with or without stiffener framework 2, 3, 4, with all its reinforced concrete elements 7, 8, 9, with no longitudinal or cross joints, such as those used in rigid pavements, capable of distributing the contact pressures of the loads over a larger area of support soil 5 without the need of granular interface(s).

[0027] The long-life pavement system is constructed of reinforced concrete, continuous, without the longitudinal or cross joints used in rigid pavements. There is only one cross joint 14 defined by the stretch of concrete poured daily, spaced hundreds of meters apart. The long-life pavement system has a distributor plate that 1 accepts the loads from the vehicles and redistributes them to existing support soil 5 in the current condition of unpaved road, or in urban or rural roads with deteriorated pavement or in new roads with the addition of solid, compacted substrata. The distributor plate that 1 is poured over the support soil without the requirement of intermediary granular coatings, although the system allows them without the thickness and qualities usual in traditional pavements being necessary, and their task when used is to play the role of granular interface 18, optional in accordance with design conditions.

[0028] The distributor plate 1 is contemplated in various types, as a solid distributor plate 20 or a relieved distributor plate 21—the latter consisting of concrete ribs poured on-site, with alleviators 6 that may be of any size, in accordance with the design, cast rigid in ceramic clay or concrete, or of the flexible type manufactured of rough wood, bamboo tubes, wood composites (chipboard), treated cardboard or any system of rigid or flexible engaged alleviators. When the relieved distributor plate 21 is used, the upper finish consists of a reinforced concrete plate to strengthen the distributor plate 9, consisting of electrically welded steel mesh, preferably poured solid with the ribs and over the alleviators so as to form the diaphragm of the relieved distributor plate 16.

[0029] The solid distributor plate 20 and the relieved distributor plate 21 both end laterally in the border elements of the distributor plate 22 with longitudinal reinforcement 23 or cross reinforcement 24.

[0030] The long-life pavement system contemplates various possibilities for establishing longitudinal or cross rigidity, utilizing monolithic elements similar to beams, that increase rigidity by increasing the thickness from the lower face downward, from the upper face upward, with or without curbs or separators 13. The stiffening elements may combine increases in thickness simultaneously upward and downward as in the case of the berm ditch 12. Stiffeners are of the type of the lateral longitudinal element 2, central longitudinal element 3 in the axis of the road 19, intermediate longitudinal elements 25 and cross elements 4. The location and size of the longitudinal and cross stiffening elements may be in different positions throughout the length and breadth of the road, depending on the stretch of road, the surface finish and the design selected. Specifications for materials the longitudinal reinforcement 7 and the cross reinforcement 8 vary in accordance with the designs of the system.

[0031] The lateral finishes of the long-life pavement system have all the diversity of the usual surface paving materials in the world, but monolithically integrated to the system and poured onsite in reinforced concrete. They may end in an overlap 17 with or without stiffener, with longitudinal lateral-axis beam 2 downwards in the edge, or with jutting overlap with the border integrated or not as a stiffener in the edge of the overlap, and with or without addition of thickness downwards.

[0032] The long-life pavement system requires a sub-surface drainage system by means of a longitudinal filter 26 with geometry, materials and location depending on the design of the road.

[0033] All the elements of the structure of the pavement form an integrated monolithic whole, with a powerful capacity for distributing loads and pressures, even in weak soils. In the distributor plate the stiffeners, longitudinal and cross elements, berms 10, ditches 11, berm ditches 12 form geometric sections of great mechanical capacity, which, with appropriate specification of materials and longitudinal reinforcements 7 and cross reinforcements 8 added to mesh reinforcements, generate very large resistance to mechanical forces that make their work efficient.

[0034] The reinforced concrete structure proposed is very versatile. Using reinforced concrete is within the reach of all the communities in the country and around the globe. The fact that it does not require a sub-base or base eliminates dependence on heavy machinery. The configuration of the reinforcements, the production of concrete, supplies, equipment and tools, transportation and the pouring of concrete are broadly known and these processes, to a large extent, may be administered and carried out by the communities themselves with great savings and improvement in the income of the citizens. This facilitates road construction in isolated and poor communities, but if the paving of an urban street is required, or a project with high specifications that merit the use of installment technologies, nothing is better known in the world, with leading-edge technology ready to serve, than reinforced concrete.

[0035] The invention and its application reduce the costs of road improvements and facilitate the processes. The application of long-life pavement eliminates shortcomings in the operation, durability, resistance and use of traditional pavements, eliminates, in rigid pavement, the wear and tears due to the joints, resolving the problems of vehicle vibration. Vibration induced by the joints prevents the use of rigid pavement in many road systems such as in airports and high-speed highways. Long-life pavement, by not having joints, and by using a reinforcement system, eliminates bumps, which cause rigid pavement to deteriorate. In this system there is only one joint every hundred or so meters, the cross joint 14 which separates the concrete pour process and resolves the problems of transfer by means of the joint transfer key 15, always accomplished in deep double cross elements 4. The absence of joints facilitates the extension of the use to pavements in pedestrian walkways or industrial roadways.

[0036] The integral nature of the system resolves the problem of relative vertical displacements, the raising of edges by the passage loads, sinkage due to excessive pressure on the edge, differentiated settling caused by pumping on an edge or the breaking of a segment, or due to deficiency or a lack of homogeneity in the foundation soil. The defects of rigid pavements on slopes due to the displacement of concrete sections as the result of braking, friction and vibration disappear as well. Differences in resistance between reinforced concrete and other materials is immense in terms of cost, and it would be unnecessary to explain it, but it is required to say that the rupture module that defined the limit of force and durability of traditional pavement has completely lost its effectiveness.

[0037] This long-life pavement system has a much greater capacity to transfer loads and lesser pressures on the supporting soil than the world's traditional pavements, which allows it to use the present structure on most of the compacted roads in the world, including those of earth with a slight improvement of the subsoil.

[0038] Conceptual development for the invention of the long-life pavement system has a solid and dense conceptualization, the fruit of years of study, application and development of the knowledge of the inventor in the subject; he who is available to give detailed explanations in this regard.

[0039] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0040] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) based on a patent application filed with the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce under No. 02-68559 on Aug. 6, 2002, the contents of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A pavement system, comprising: a plurality of distributor plates overlying support soil, the distributor plates each having reinforced concrete elements configured to transfer vehicular or static loads to the support soil.
 2. The pavement system of claim 1 further comprising a stiffener framework cooperating with the distributor plates.
 3. The pavement system of claim 2 wherein the stiffener framework comprises longitudinal and cross elements.
 4. A pavement system, comprising: a reinforced concrete diaphragm overlying natural terrain or layers of non-native materials without separation joints and spacing intervals.
 5. The pavement system of claim 4 wherein the reinforced concrete diaphragm comprises stiffening elements either engaged of overhanging from faces of the reinforced concrete diaphragm.
 6. The pavement system of claim 4 wherein the reinforced concrete diaphragm overlies the natural terrain or layers of non-native materials without granular bases and sub-bases as support material.
 7. The pavement system of claim 4 reinforced concrete diaphragm is monolithic over a length of at least one hundred meters, the reinforced concrete diaphragm being constructed without expansion joints, contraction joints and structural joints.
 8. The pavement system of claim 4 wherein the reinforced concrete diaphragm comprises a traffic surface and elements of reinforced concrete in directions parallel, perpendicular or diagonal to the axis of the structure, located above or under the traffic surface and level with the traffic surface.
 9. The pavement system of claim 4 comprising a plurality of poured concrete diaphragms, solid or relieved, reinforced with steel rods arranged in longitudinal, cross or diagonal directions with respect to the axis of the structure.
 10. The pavement system of claim 4 further comprising road elements structurally integrated with the reinforced concrete diaphragm.
 11. The pavement system of claim 11 wherein the road elements comprises curbs, ditches, berms ditches, canals or spillways. 